


Joaquin's Epilogue

by peyj_turner



Category: Book of Life (2014)
Genre: Multi, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-04
Updated: 2014-11-04
Packaged: 2018-02-24 02:10:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2564411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peyj_turner/pseuds/peyj_turner
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Exactly what it says on the tin: an epilogue for Joaquin.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Joaquin's Epilogue

Joaquin died, as all men do.

It was no surprise to anyone, as he was a man of the military, and without his magical Medal of Eternal Life, he was as mortal as anyone else on the battlefield. Instead of bouncing off like cotton balls against his body, bullets and shrapnel tore through his flesh like any other soldier. His skill and his luck got him through most of his scrapes, but like a candle in a storm, it was only a matter of time before he ran out of pages in the Book of Life. His end was equal parts tragedy and bravery, as he was the first soldier to run into the melee and the last one to leave it, with two other wounded soldiers in tow. His wounds got the better of him though, and he died in the arms of his weeping men.

Like with the Sanchez family, La Muerte has always had a soft spot for men at arms. With Joaquin, it was no different: a parade in his and in the honor of all the soldiers in that melee was in full swing, in front of the brilliant background that was the Land of the Remembered. Each and every one of the fallen, enemy and comrade, was welcomed in to the next world with open arms. However, seeing as the two had some history beforehand, La Muerte welcomed Joaquin personally.

She greeted the mustachioed hero jovially. “Welcome to the Land of the Remembered, Joaquin Mondragon. We’ve been expecting you!”

"So have I!", a familiar, fatherly voice echoed.

"And so have we!", a chorus of voices billowed.

Joaquin was met with his father, the famous General Mondragon, and the entire Sanchez clan in one go. The Sanchez family gave the soldier a warm welcome to the afterlife, and a longer tour of the Land of the Remembered than when Manolo ‘visited’ the place. Joaquin’s father poured his praises over the boy, while all of the Shanchez men gave him pats on the back for dying bravely on the battlefield. Everybody that he knew in the afterlife managed to sneak in a ‘hello’ and a ‘welcome.’

Everyone, except for a certain pair of _solodaderas_.

"Carmen, where are Adelita and Scardelita?", Joaquin asked.

"You’ll see!", she replied coyly.

There were feasts in his honor, but in the Land of the Remembered there are always feasts for the next wave of those who came to pass through. There were celebrations and parades and stories swapped between the citizens of the afterlife and the recently deceased. Joaquin told the Sanchez clan about his own feats, the continuing collection of medals, and, of course, his beloved friends Manolo, Maria and their children. A bit of cajoling was had at Joaquin’s expense at his own lack of heirs, but considering his profession, he thought it best not to leave any broken hearts at home while he was in battle. He tried his best to steer away from conversations like these, because in his heart he only had eyes for a certain duo, who he kept looking for over the crowds of people streaming in and out of La Muerte’s palace. He kept looking for a pair of matching red _sombreros_ , a matching pair of bandoliers, or a pair of similar faces, one with an eye-patch and another without.

In the midst of this, he asked again: “Carmen, where are the twins?”

"You’ll see," she replied again.

Time passed, but the celebrations did not stop. Rather, the dead celebrated the even more recently deceased, and those like Joaquin celebrated the newer arrivals when they came over, the way others celebrated his. The dead do not get tired of the constant celebration, for the drink is ever flowing, the food ever lasting, and the living, well, never stop dying. This constant sense of happiness and the distinct lack of pain was heavenly of Joaquin, who was more than happy to celebrate new arrivals. However, he was still looking for the one—or rather the two—reasons he looked forward to his stay here.

Where are the Adelita twins?

"They’re here, Joaquin!" said Carmen.

They rode in on horseback. Or, what passed for horses in the Land of the Remembered, as they were more…bone than flesh. But, they were still what the eyes did recognize as horses. In an almost practiced unison, they unmounted their horses, and each gave the fallen soldier a deep embrace that was long overdue.

“ _Hola_ , Joaquin! How was your parade?” they asked together.

"Not bad, but when Jorge got into the wine, he wouldn’t stop singing until I croaked out a duet with him."

"That sounds about right!" Scardelita quipped.

"You’d think he’d learn his lesson by now, huh?" Adelita added.

But the pleasantries were done, and the twin _solodaderas_ each took one of Joaquin’s hands. Each twin suddenly had a rosy look in their eye(s).

"You remembered the great time we had in Manolo’s wedding?" Adelita asked.

"And everything else we did _after_ the wedding?” Scardelita added suggestively.

Joaquin felt his face burn. “How can I forget? I knew if I couldn’t keep up with you two, you’d never let me live it down when I got here. I still have that scar on my thigh when we—”

“ _That’s_ quite enough! These two are actually here for a reason!” Carmen interrupted. “You, brave soldier boy, are needed here in the Land of the Remembered.”

"There are a few loose souls in the outer reaches of the Land of the Remembered that need to be reigned in and judged by La Muerte. Usually they’re a few bad eggs who have a hard time breaking habits they learned in the land of the living." Scardelita said.

"And La Muerte asked us personally to help her out! It’s been like fighting in the war again! But, you know, minus the dying part." Adelita added.

The twins quickly turned to Joaquin and they both smacked him on the rear, a twin for each cheek. Joaquin leapt a foot in the air in surprise. Carmen couldn't hold back a laugh.

"And we want you to come with us!" they said in chorus.

His face was cherry red at this point, and he rubbed his seat for a bit before straightening up, and flashing his signature, dashing smile that he used a hundred times on his admirers before he kicked the bucket. The twins and Carmen looked at Joaquin expectedly.

"Ladies, I’d want nothing more."

~FIN~

**Author's Note:**

> Author’s Notes: I really, REALLY wanted to flesh out Joaquin’s ending a little more, and I really, really wanted for him to end up with with the twins, two characters that really, really needed more screen time! So this happened, out of boredom and a silly idea that all three would go gallivanting around the Land of the Remembered being heroes. I might expand this to include more fluff, or just have them bone (heh) but that’s another project.


End file.
